Leaving New Orleans on Tuesday evening, June 4th, we were met at Jackson, Miss., by Brother Pope, with whom we went to
What a delightful location! my first thought was. It does not require a great degree of self-denial to spend the winter in such a retreat as this. The mission-house is situated in the centre of a plantation of five hundred acres, and the approach to it is through a superb grove or forest of oaks, festooned with Spanish moss. Coming from parched and dry New Orleans, where the sun smites so fiercely in midsummer, the country around Tougaloo seemed delightfully fresh and cool. I found teachers and pupils in the midst of their annual examinations. I was impressed with the faithfulness and thoroughness of the instruction given here. There was no “coaching” and no prompting, but every student was put to a fair test of scholarship and proficiency. The singing was an important and interesting feature of Commencement week. Tougaloo could send out its troop of Jubilee Singers, who would win general favor. Great credit is due to the teachers of vocal and instrumental music. The institution, already in such good condition, should have, at the earliest day, increased accommodations for boarding-scholars, enabling them to receive a larger number of mature pupils from all parts of Mississippi. From Tougaloo I went to
for a day only. This is one of the prettiest towns in Alabama. The county has a dense negro population, so that the school must always have abundant patronage. It was pleasant to find here Mr. Silsby, whose father was an efficient worker in the same field many years. Mr. Burrell, who is still living, has the great satisfaction of knowing that his benevolent gift has been so fruitful of good results. I reached
in time for my appointment on Sunday. This was another surprise to me. Situated in the mountain region of Alabama, with a grand outlook on every side, with fresh breezes from the hills, and with valleys clothed with verdure, it certainly seemed as though a Divine hand guided in the choice of this favored site. The Baccalaureate sermon by the college pastor, Rev. Mr. Hickox, was able and timely. The examinations were full of interest, and brought out the real merit of the instruction and the zeal and diligence of the students. I was particularly pleased with the theological examination conducted by Rev. Mr. Andrews. It covered a wide range of study, and showed that the young men had been taught to think and reason for themselves. I noticed with great satisfaction, in the boarding department, the orderly and polite deportment of the seventy-five young men and women who gather three times a day in the same dining-hall. It was like a quiet Christian family. The training received here will be beyond value, and will reach many families in the State. Were a boarding department not necessary, it would be very desirable for the culture of manners and the direct influence on character of the association of the sexes.